Fifth-wheel for vehicles



(No Model) W P KRAMER FIFTH WHEEL FOR VEHICLES.

o. 585,581. Patented une 29,- 1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM F. KRAMER, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

FIFTH-WHEEL FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 585,581, dated June 29,1897. Application filed October 15, 1896- Serial No. 608,942. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. KRAMER, a citizen of the UnitedStates,'residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State ofOhio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Fifth-Wheels forVehicles, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to fifth-wheels for vehicles, and is in thenature of an improvement on the fifth-wheel for which Letters Patent ofthe United States were granted to W. F. Kramer and O. F. VVeinman on theth day of September, 1894, No. 526,494. In said Letters Patent is showna fifth-wheel comprising a lower grooved segment and an upper flangedsegment movable thereon, a plurality of antifriction-balls beingarranged between said segments to form a rolling bearing for thesegments. Experience has demonstrated that owing to the halls rollingback and forth in the grooved segment out of their properrespective'places a swinging motion is imparted to the vehicle; and itis the object of the present invention to provide a fifth-wheelpossessing all the advantages inherent in the fifthwheel shown anddescribed in said Letters Patent, but in which the disagreeable andobjectionable swinging motion alluded to is avoided.

It is a further object of my invention to provide improved hearings orhousings for the antifriction-balls capable of being readily removedwhen worn and replaced by new ones.

To these ends my invention consists in the features, and in theconstruction, arrangement, or combination of parts hereinafter fullydescribed, and specifically pointed out in the claims following thedescription, reference being had to the accompanying-drawings, forming apart of this specification, wherein-- Figure 1 is a plan View of myimproved fifth-wheel, a portion of the upper segment being broken away.Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig.

3 is a longitudinal sectional View of the upper and lower segments, theball-housing being shown in elevation; and Fig. 4 is a detailperspective view of the housing removed.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the lower segment ofthe fifth-wheel longitudinally channeled or grooved, as at 2, andadapted to be clipped to the spring on the front axle in the mannershown and described in the said Letters Patent to Kramer and Weinman.

The numeral 3 indicates the flanged upper segment, bolted at itsopposite ends to the bolster 4, which is fixed to the body of thevehicle in the usual manner. The upper seg ment 3 is arranged over andregisters with the lower segment 1, and its flanges 5 cmbrace theopposite edges of said segment 1 to aid in maintaining said segments inoperative relation one to the other. Arranged in each end of the groovedlower segment 1 is a ball housing or hearing 6, curved longitudinally onthe arc of a circle corresponding to the curvature of the lower'segmentand properly shaped in cross-section to snugly lit the groove 2 in saidsegment.

The housing or hearing 6 is provided with a semicircular socket 7, inwhich rests an antifriction-ball 8, and is provided on each side of thesocket with apertures 9, which extend entirely through the housing orhearing, as most clearly shown in Fig. 4. A cover 10 is fitted on thehousing or bearing 6, and is provided with a circular aperture 11,through which the ball 8 slightly protrudes.

Formed on the under side of the cover 10 are twolugs or ribs 12, whichproject into the apertures 9 in the ball housing or hearing and abut theends of the latter and prevent any lateral or longitudinal movement ofthe cover. The cover 10 is fixed in place on the ball housing orhearing, and the latter is securely held in place in the grooved segment1 by bolts 13, which pass through bolt-holes 14 in the cover, throughthe apertures 9 in the housing or hearing, and through suitableapertures in the bottom of the segment 1, and have tapped over theirthreaded ends nuts 15. The antifriction-balls are thus held to theirseats in the sockets and the housings or bearin gs are held fixed intheir seats in the grooved segment. The upper segment 3 rests on thetops of the balls 8 with its flanges 5 embracing the edges of the lowersegment 1.

In the act of turning, the antifriction-balls furnish a rolling bearingbetween the segments, reducing the friction to a minimum in a well-knownmanner. Owing, however,

to the housings or bearings being fixed in the grooved segments, theballs are prevented from rolling back and forth in the grooved segmentout of their proper respective places,

whereby a firm invariable hearing or support Should the housings orbearings become worn, they may be very readily removed by taking out thebolts 13 and new housings or bearings substituted, thus prolonging thelife of the fifth-wheel indefinitely.

I have shown and described the housings or bearings as attached to thelower segment, I but it will be readily apparent to those skilled in theart that the parts may be reversed and the housings or bearings beattached to the upper segment and the antifriction-balls have a rollingcontact with the lower segment. I have shown but a singleantifriction-ball arranged in each housing or bearing, but it will beunderstood that each housing or hearing may be provided with a pluralityof antifriction-balls without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combination withupper and lower segments, one of which is constructed with a groove, ofa curved ball-housing inserted into the grooved segment and providedwith a ball-socket, means for securing said curved ball-housing in afixed position in the groove, and a ball seated in the ball-socket,substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. In a fifth-wheel, the combination with the upper and lower segments,of an antifriction-ball housing or bearing interposed between saidsegments and removably affixed to one of them, and antifriction-ballsseated in sockets in said housings or bearings and having a rollingcontact with the other segment, substantially as described.

3. In a fifth-wheel, the combination with the grooved segment 1 and theflanged segment 3, of the antifriction-ball housings or bearings 6removably fixed in the opposite ends of said grooved segment andprovided with semicircular sockets 7, and antifrictionballs 8 arrangedin said sockets and having a rolling contact with the segment 3,substantially as described.

4. In a fifth-wheel, the combination with the grooved segment 1 and theflanged segment 3, of the antifriction-ball housings or bearings 6arranged in the opposite ends of the grooved segment and provided withsemicircular sockets 7, antifriction-balls 8 seated in said socketscovers 10 for said housings or bearin gs having circular apertures 11through which the antifriction-balls protrude, and means for removablyaffixing said housings or hearings to said grooved segment,substantially as described.

5. In a fifth-wheel, the combination with the grooved segment 1 and theflanged segment 3, of the antifriction-ball housings or bearings 6arranged in'the opposite grooved ends of the segment 1 and provided withsemicircular sockets 7 and apertures 9, antifriction-balls 8 seated insaid sockets, covers 10 arranged on said housings or bearings and havingcircular apertures through which the antifriction-balls protrude tocontact with the segment 3, and provided on their under sides with ribs12 which abut the ends of the housings or bearings, and bolts 13removably se- 7 curing the housings or bearings and their covers to thesegment 1, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

I/VILLIAM F. KRAMER.

\Vitnesses:

CLEMENT L. BAUMANN, GEORGE W. BRUNETTE.

